Corporations and mutual fund companies have been searching for solutions to the inefficiency and expense associated with postal mail and telephone communications to voters related to meetings, corporate governance, regulatory or compliance matters, merger, acquisitions, takeovers, written consents, proxy contests, or simply dissemination of information to voters.
A number of vendors have started to provide technology-based outsourcing services to the financial services industry. Such services include investor communications electronic solutions. However, current market offerings direct the shareholders away from their electronic mail and to corporate and proxy websites to access shareholder ballots and submit their voting response. The extra steps necessary to access the corporate or proxy website and enter their shareholder identification (ID) to gain access to the secure content creates a user barrier which leads to uninformed voting or no voting at all.
These vendors have made proxy voting easier by launching electronic, web-based proxy voting solutions where the shareholder receives an e-mail notification of an event to vote. However, as noted above, the shareholder is directed away from his e-mail to a website where he must use security credentials provided to log in for access to the meeting materials and ballot. From the ballot, the shareholder can cast his vote.